Left jumps gun to celebrate

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Aisa, a Left wing group, demonstrates in favour of revocation of the FYUP. Picture by Yasir Iqbal

New Delhi, June 24: The CPM politburo today jumped the gun and celebrated the exit of Delhi University vice-chancellor Dinesh Singh and the restoration of the three-year degree courses, proving the party is on the same page as the BJP.

There had been unconfirmed reports that Singh had resigned, but they were later found to be untrue.

“The politburo of the CPI(M) welcomes the restoration of the three-year degree courses and the exit of the vice-chancellor of Delhi University,” a statement put out by the party around 4pm said.

The statement went on to congratulate the teachers, many of whom are part of the Left unions in Delhi University, as well as the students and others for their successful struggle.

“It congratulates the teachers, students and employees of the university whose sustained struggle has forced the rollback of the utterly arbitrary imposition of the FYUP,” the statement said.

This is not the first time the CPM has jumped the gun. In March-April 2008, the 19th party congress had congratulated its members for successfully stalling the Indo-US nuclear deal.

But, in reality, the Congress-led UPA regime had not only formalised the nuke deal but also defeated the Left’s effort to pull down the government by withdrawing support to it.

The Left-backed teachers’ union in Delhi University has been opposed to the VC and his effort to introduce the four-year undergraduate programme. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad, the BJP-sponsored students’ union, is also against the course.

Madhu Kishwar, who has morphed from championing Narendra Modi to the government’s conscience-keeper, may not have been wrong when she talked of the human resource development minister, Smriti Irani, being influenced by the Left teachers’ union.

“Simple question to all those abusing me for defending VC Dinesh Singh: How come CPM, CPI teachers made common cause with Irani to oust him?” Kishwar tweeted.